Well, as always the Avalanche do something off-the-wall unexpected. Today, they essentially placed the near-term future of the franchise on a 23-year-old goalie who didn’t even start for the Washington Capitals in the playoffs and who has a history of groin problems. Oh, and they parted with what could be a first-round lottery pick next year, plus a second-rounder in either of the next two years to get him. Happy, Avalanche fans?

Then again, this could turn out to be a good deal for the Avs. But, wow, talk about a big-time gamble by GM Greg Sherman. They could have just signed 34-year-old Tomas Vokoun, a proven veteran, and given up no draft picks. But no, the Avs have laid a heavy, big-time bet on Varlamov.

Here’s what I know at the moment: the Avs contacted Vokoun’s agent right away this morning, after the bell rang to open the free-agent market. That’s it. Obviously, they didn’t agree on contract terms. As I cautioned earlier, that was always a possibility. Yeah, I and many others thought Vokoun was the favorite to come here, but the Avs obviously decided to go in a different direction after talking with Vokoun’s agent. Very quickly.

Pierre McGuire, the esteemed TV hockey analyst and a former NHL coach, has already trashed the deal from an Avs perspective. He said Varlamov is “unproven” and that Caps GM George McPhee got an “unbelievable” return for him. Darren Pang, another analyst and former goalie, didn’t seem to like the deal either. He said Varlamov has “happy feet” and has a weak glove hand.

OK then. Other than that….

Yet, the fact is Varlamov had a pretty nice saves percentage last season (.924) and is a first-round pick from five years ago. There were previous reports[2] that there was no way the Caps would trade Varlamov, and that he might even go to Russia to play this season. Not the case. The Avs have signed the restricted free agent to a two-year, $5.5 million deal.

The Caps went with Michal Neuvirth for the playoffs over Varlamov, a widely panned move that resulted in the Caps being swept out of the second round by Tampa Bay. Still, you have to scratch your head at why the Caps wouldn’t want to go with a guy who is supposed to be so talented. Then, they get two high picks for him?

As I said, a major gamble by Greg Sherman. I’d say he’s pretty much staked his job on it.